• Universitat de València
• University of Granada

• Natalia Muñoz Padial
• Rodrigo Gil San Millán
• Jorge Andrés Rodriguez Navarro

The development of new porous and crystalline metal-organic hybrid materials (MOFs) is a major focus of interest today. Its importance lies in a very high adsorption capacity and the greatest chemical versatility exhibited by any family of synthetic materials. These properties make them extraordinarily attractive materials for gas storage, catalysis, ion exchange or degradation of environmental pollutants. Possibly the greatest limitation for the integration of MOFs in industrial applications lies in their large-scale production and their low stability in aqueous media or in the presence of acids and/or bases.

On the other hand, in industrial, chemical or agricultural sectors, products that have toxic or polluting effects on humans and the earth are used, so, for a few years, compounds or methods that deal with this toxicity and pollution for degradation have been being investigated. Among these toxic compounds are the organophosphate compounds that are used in insecticides and that can have serious consequences on the human nervous system. Currently, an active carbon filter is used as a protection against this compound, which assumes that it can absorb harmful compounds, but not degrade them, due to which the material is saturated and discarded.

Researchers from the Universitat de València and the University of Granada have developed a heterometallic MOF based on titanium and iron that combines a high porosity, similar to that of active carbons, with high stability in aqueous medium. This combination of metals gives it catalytic activity for the degradation of toxic compounds in water without the need for additives.

These characteristics make it a novel material that can degrade toxic and pollutants without prior conditioning, which would facilitate its incorporation in different applications such as degrading pesticides, degrading polluting and toxic compounds such as organophosphate compounds, or protection against toxic agents by using masks with filters of this material. By combining the capabilities of adsorbing and catalytically degrading, it has a high detoxification capacity that can increase the shelf life of the products in which it is used. In addition, this compound is stable in both acidic and basic media and does not lose its catalytic activity during use for a substantial improvement in its durability.

The technology is applicable in the chemical industry, in agriculture for the degradation of pesticides and in defence and protection materials for military equipment, in addition to being able to be used in water treatment.

The main advantages and benefits provided by the invention would be:

• Ability to degrade toxic compounds and pollutants.
• Increase the service life of the products in which it is used.
• The material is highly stable, making it possible to apply it in media with both acidic and basic pHs, which improves its durability.

• Patent applied